Packaging lines characterized by a variety of processing/handling steps are well known. Commonly, cartoning apparatus are provided which are designed to package articles such as bottles or cans into a unitary container such as a paper board tray, carton or case (see e.g., and without limitation, U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,734 (Moncrief et al.)). In advance of cartoning or the like, articles are selectively grouped from a supply of articles in some manner so as to correspond with/conform to the approximate container dimensions, e.g., article arrays may be selectively formed, such as a 2×6, 4×12, etc. and thereafter, the article group is presented for packaging, and packaged.
Packaging lines demand flexibility, speed, accuracy, and efficiency during production runs. Long changeover time, excessive change parts, large operational footprints, and damaged product are undesirable in the production environment because the operational objectives of flexibility, speed, accuracy, and efficiency cannot be met. As such, minimization and/or elimination of such inefficiencies have been sought, and continue to be the focus of persons skilled in the art.
A packaging machine or process line demanding a large size range or pitch requires many components and servo motors to control products or articles/materials as they are metered and loaded into cartons, cases, buckets, lugs, or some other form of loading mechanism or material. This results in increased manufacturing and selling costs. Manufacturers also find it difficult to control product surge, resulting in product damage due to the mechanisms, such as pins, used to hold products back while other products are metered and loaded. The pins, which literally stop the oncoming product, are know to cause small “dents” in the product.
Product changeovers require operators to physically remove an average of 15 to 30 article selectors, i.e., devices that separate products during the metering and loading process, e.g., selectors “bars.” This results in extensive changeover times, which reduce production line operating efficiencies due to changeover downtime and startup thereafter.
In light of the foregoing, it remains especially advantageous to provide an “infinite” pitch adjustability, more particularly, to provide an on-the-fly infinite pitch adjustability through selection of a “recipe” from recipes of programmable pitches. Such “solution” eliminates extensive mechanical/operator changeover when adjusting for different pitches; offers smaller/reduced operational floor plans; lowers manufacturing and selling costs due to fewer parts and simpler manufacturing processes; offers higher operating speeds; and, eliminates damaged products due to structure(s) of the infinite pitch adjustability mechanism “moving” with the product throughout the entire product metering and loading process.